Physician Clinical Support SystemAn Educational Resource For Those Treating Patients With Opioid Dependence

What is the Physician Clinical Support System?

The SAMHSA-funded PCSS is designed to assist practicing physicians, in accordance with the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000, in incorporating into their practices the treatment of prescription opioid and heroin dependent patients using buprenorphine.

The PCSS service is available, at no cost, to interested physicians and staff, to assist in implementing office-based treatment of opioid dependence with buprenorphine. The essential elements of the PCSS are a national network of trained physician mentors with expertise in buprenorphine treatment and skilled in clinical education, who will be supported by NATIONAL EXPERTS in the use of buprenorphine and a MEDICAL DIRECTOR.

The PCSS MENTORS are members of medical specialty societies and provide mentoring support and educational services based on evidence-based practice guidelines. The efforts of PCSS are coordinated by a STEERING COMMITTEE composed of representatives from the Federal government, the leading addiction medicine societies, along with primary care and psychiatric organizations that represent the target physician populations.

It is estimated that in its first year of operation the PCSS will provide clinical support services to primary care physicians, pain specialists, psychiatrists, and other non-addiction medical practitioners in an effort to increase access to this form of treatment. The PCSS serves to significantly increase access to buprenorphine treatment among the millions of untreated opioid dependent patients.

The PCSS is designed to offer support to clinicians on a number of TOPICS.

The PCSS is active in 48 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. Click here or on the image below to see the PCSS ACTIVITIES MAP.

How To Get Involved

Contact PCSS Staff for more information about the program or to find a PCSS clinician in your locale or region. To register as a PCSS Participant, you may contact the PCSS directly or download, complete, and return the PCSS Participant Registration Questionnaire form. PCSS staff will match you to a mentor within 2 days of receiving your registration form.

Editor's Note:I highly recommend Physician Clinical Support System to all qualified to participate. It is definitely an asset to any physician involved with Suboxone. We recommend you checking it out personally at http://www.pcssmentor.org/pcss/index.php.

We will be providing PCSS Clinical Guidances from Physician Clinical Support System for others interested in learning more about Suboxone.

We will be publishing many other articles related to buprenorphine. I invite all of you to check them out each time you visit because you may find some of them interesting and they may answer some of your questions.

If your physician isn't aware of the URL then please take the time to share it with them. If you have a printer then it would be a nice gesture to print a few of the articles and take with you on your next visit. If we really want them to understand us better then why not help them by printing the articles and hand -delivering it.If it is there they may pick it up and read it. It will benefit them but it will benefit us more if they have a better understanding og the medication and of opiate addiction.